Isaac Delgado
One of timba's great soneros — Isaac Delgado's voice combines the rhythmic precision of classic son with the improvisational aggression of timba, making him one of the most respected vocalists in the genre.
About
Delgado grew up in Havana and developed his vocal style in the tradition of the son sonero — the improvising lead vocalist who drives the coro/montuno section. After working with several groups, he formed his own band in the early 1990s and became a central figure in timba's development alongside NG La Banda and Los Van Van.
His recordings from the 1990s and 2000s — including Con ganas, La fórmula, No me pongas en ese plan — are considered classics of the timba era. His voice has a natural warmth and rhythmic authority that makes him equally convincing in romantic ballads and hard-driving montunos. He has worked extensively outside Cuba as well, recording and performing across Latin America and Europe.
Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
Lees meer >Songo is the direct bridge between traditional Cuban music and timba. Developed by Los Van Van in the early 1970s, it rewired Cuban popular music by absorbing funk, rock, and jazz into the Afro-Cuban rhythmic foundation — and laid the groundwork that timba would build on.
Lees meer >Cuban Dances Originating in Havana
Havana, the cultural heartbeat of Cuba, played a central role in the creation and evolution of several iconic Cuban dances. Some were born directly in the capital, while others were transformed there into the forms we know today.
Lees meer >Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and the birthplace of some of the world's most influential music and dance traditions. African, Spanish, and French cultural streams collided here over centuries of colonial history, producing an extraordinary creative culture that exported itself across the globe.
Lees meer >European cultural influence on Cuba came primarily through Spain (as colonial power) and France (through the Haitian migration and Caribbean trade). These influences shaped Cuban music's harmonic language, instrumentation, and dance forms.
Lees meer >EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales) is Cuba's state recording company, founded in 1964 after the Revolution nationalized all private recording labels. Its main facility, Estudios Areíto in Havana, is where virtually every important Cuban recording from the Revolution era was made.
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- Who sings it Chorus (the coristas, sometimes the horns too)
- Purpose Repetition, hook and rhythmic anchor
- Characteristics Short, catchy, often syncopated
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